Heading out on his horse, Ghost, into the snowy Highlands of Scotland in January 1817 was not sane, but Bryce Ketteridge would never let down his friends. If a duke, an earl, and a former spy felt finding the owners of nobleman’s rings was important, he would do his share. Coming across masked bandits, and shooting one, turned his life on end. What follows was not in his plans.
The last thing Cat Douglas wished to do was steal coins from the handsome stranger she meets at a tavern. When he later shoots her while she threatened a nobleman’s coach, she suspected he had no idea it was her. Kidnapped boys, pirate threats, and murder propel them to save a boy named Blake. He was, after all, special to them both.
Nancy Lee Badger grew up in Huntington on New York’s Long Island. After attending Plymouth State, in New Hampshire, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree and met and married her college sweetheart. They raised two handsome sons in Rumney, New Hampshire while she dreamed of being a writer. When the children had left the nest, and shoveling snow became a chore, she retired from her satisfying job as a 911 Emergency Medical Dispatcher and moved to North Carolina, where she writes full-time. Nancy is a member of Romance Writers of America, Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal Romance Writers, and the Triangle Association of Freelancers. She finds story ideas in the most unusual places.
I’m so excited to be a part of N. N. Light’s Book Heaven Salute Military Bookish Event. Check out all books in time for Memorial Day and enter the giveaway to win a $20 Amazon gift card: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/salute-military-bookish-event #memorialday #salutemilitary #militaryfiction #militaryromance
Here you’ll find teasers from a variety of authors – just a taste of what’s in their books….
All (c) belongs to the original authors.
Excerpt from the Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles – Book I (c) A. L. Butcher
The Archmage rested: dozing, replenishing, and dreaming. Archos had spent an active day and night studying and trying to finish the spell he was creating. Even with his Power, something had unsettled him, so he had given up and gone to rest. As he dozed in a chair in what he called his “workshop,” the Mirror he owned began to sing. Pulled from his sleep, he rose and walked to it. “What is it that you disturb me at such an hour?” he murmured. The Mirror’s song began to wail the strange, haunting song of the Arcane Realms. Touching the edges of the Enchanted Silver frame, he watched as the Mirror shimmered, and the mists cleared.
Archos watched as the view of the chamber in the ruins flickered into view. The image was weak, so he channelled some magic into the Mirror, and Archos saw the other Mirror in the tower and a glimpse of something red as the image flickered out. “Damn you,” he muttered, “must be a weak one.”
Concentrating, he channelled another small bolt of magic into his own Mirror. These artefacts had many uses, if a mage knew the correct spell, one of which included finding other such Mirrors. It was almost as though they spoke to one another, communicated in the Arcane Realm. They fed on magic, although Archos was not sure if “fed” was the correct term. Demanded, needed, or desired were perhaps more accurate. His Mirror could be fickle, but it was old. It had cost him a good deal some years ago, but he smiled as he caressed the silver. He saw the image flicker back up and as it did so, a bolt of magic, of pain, of Power, and of the most intense desire shot down his arm and right across him. Suddenly his head spun, for just a moment, and the Power made him drop gasping to his knees.
“Gods, what was that? Such Power! That cannot have been from the other Mirror!”
He had never felt such intensity as the Power of the woman who called to him across the vast Magical Realms. Breathlessly, he gripped the edges, surprised and deeply intrigued. As he pulled himself back to his feet, Archos saw her: the flame-haired elf woman touching the Mirror in the ruins. He watched as she ran her fingers down the glass and murmured something. Again, he cursed that he had never been able to get the thing to transmit sound. Archos gazed, transfixed, at the beautiful young mage. She could not be more than twenty-five summers, although with elves, it was hard to tell. It had taken him years to learn Mirror magic, yet before him stood this young mage activating an old, dying Mirror.
The image faded, and he snapped at the Mirror, “Show me. Do not play games.”
The mists swirled, and he tried to reach through the unyielding magical fog. “Damn you, so be it!” Archos continued, glaring at the Mirror.
Book info:
The Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles – Book I
In a dark world where magic is illegal, and elves are enslaved a young elven sorceress runs for her life from the house of her evil Keeper. Pursued by his men and the corrupt Order of Witch-Hunters she must find sanctuary. As the slavers roll across the lands stealing elves from what remains of their ancestral home the Witch-Hunters turn a blind eye to the tragedy and a story of power, love and a terrible revenge unfolds.
Leave your sunscreen and passport at home and join in the fun! Join our Spring Break Bookapalooza and reach readers!
We’re pleased to announce sign-ups are open for our fifth annual Spring Break Bookapalooza. April is typically when many adults, children, teens, and families go on spring break. Readers want books to read while lounging in the sun in faraway lands. We believe your books are the perfect spring break reads and we’d love to promote your books in our upcoming event.
What is our Spring Break Bookapalooza? It’s a month-long series of spotlights (like the Binge-Worthy Book Festival and Fall Into These Great Reads Bookathon events) in April where readers can get their fill of any genre, any format (e-copy, print or audiobook) books that readers won’t get enough of (new releases or backlist) plus enter to win a $75 Amazon gift card.
Your book can be any genre, new release or backlist, any format. We want everything from middle grade to erotic romance, and everything in between. If you have nonfiction, we’d love to feature those as well. This event will be promoted as a take a break with these books this spring event.
If you have a sale or a new release in April, this is a smart way to promote your sale or new release for a low price. We can schedule your spot to go live on your release day or on your sale day. Please be sure to tell us the dates so we can coordinate.
Also, if you have a preorder going on, this is a great way to gain more preorders.
Note: your book does NOT need to be on sale for it to qualify for this event.
The price is $18 USD per book and all heat levels are welcome. As an added bonus, you can purchase social media follower add-ons for $10 per platform. Your options are Mastadon, Counter Social, Medium, WhatsApp, Reddit, TikTok, website, newsletter, blog, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Bookbub, Amazon, Goodreads, YouTube, Book + Main, Tumblr, LinkedIn, and Snapchat. This is an inexpensive way to gain followers the organic way.
Please take note of the increased pricing. This is the new pricing for all month-long events going forward. We have an office and a staff which do an outstanding job of making sure your books are marketed to readers. We have to increase prices slightly to pay for their salaries.
When signing up for an add-on, please make sure you already have an account. We don’t create an account for you. The entrants will need to sign up voluntarily, as per GDPR and CAN-SPAM rules. We don’t collect email addresses and hand them out to you in an Excel spreadsheet like other promotional companies do.
Each book spotlight will be posted on N. N. Light’s Book Heaven on a scheduled day throughout April. We don’t post them all up at once but staggered throughout the month. It’s a proven marketing technique as our readers love coming back each day to see what books are being featured. We’re also giving out a customized graphic ($20 value) for every book featured in this event. To see an example, please scroll up to the very top of this post to see the graphic.
Like all of our promotions, the Spring Break Bookapalooza will have its own event page, will be promoted every day and we will hand out promotional materials which includes graphics and promo copy before the event starts.
The Spring Break Bookapalooza will go live April 1 so sign up today. There’s a limited number of spots so don’t delay. I don’t want you to miss out on this inexpensive and successful promo to market your books.
Click the link below to be taken to our general contact page. Put “April Author Event” in the subject line so I know which event you’re signing up for. Please be sure to include: author name, book title(s), how many book spots you want to reserve, how many social media follower add-ons you’d like along with which platforms and your Paypal address.
Alex L. Butcher, who put the project together, and I are Facebook friends, have worked together before, and are also involved in Janet Morris’ Heroes in Hell™ series.
Tell us a little about your work in this book?
I’d been writing short stories since fifth grade, and then I started playing guitar. Inspired by Edgar Allen Poe, Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison of The Doors, Peter Sinfield who wrote lyrics for King Crimson, and Emerson, Lake and Palmer, and Keith Reid, who wrote lyrics for Procul Harum, I started writing poems and then soon afterwards, song lyrics. A couple of years ago I started dabbling in haiku.
Please tell us about your other publications/work.
I’ve written three books thus far in my sword & sorcery, heroic fantasy series, Mad Shadows. I’ve also written a space opera and a sword & planet novel, co-authored two children’s books with Erika M Szabo, and co-authored a pirate/horror novel with David C. Smith. I’ve published a number of short stories and novellas, and have appeared in six recent volumes of the Heroes in Hell™ series.
Do you think the written word (or art) brings power and freedom?
Yes! The pen is indeed mightier than the sword. Fascist, authoritarian governments fear the power of the word. They fear any artform they think is harmful to their “regimes,” to their plans: art is transformative, it teaches and enlightens us, it makes us hope and dream. To “them,” its greatest threat is that it makes us think, and gives us ideas. Art is truth, and oppressors the world over would bury Truth beneath the dirt of propaganda, censorship and book burning.
If you could have dinner with any literary character or author, who would you choose, and what would you eat.
I’ll pick an author, and not to offend anyone still living, I’ll pick a dead author: Raymond Chandler, because he was the key to my writing my Mad Shadows Triad. Oh, maybe we’d eat pizza or steak, drink whiskey and/or Guinness Stout. Since he lived in California, maybe we’d eat seafood and drink wine.
How influential is storytelling/poetry to our culture?
It’s not only influential, it’s important: it is life affirming. We need poems and literature, music and paintings, and all forms of art. It keeps us sane and healthy. Storytelling and poetry reveal what’s in our hearts. Every art form reveals what we think and dream and hope for. It reveals the depths of our souls. Once again, it teaches and enlightens, as well to help ease the burden of our worries and our troubles.
If you could be any fantasy/mythical or legendary person/creature, what would you be and why?
I’ll go with being a vampire. They dress well, only go out at night, have superhuman powers, and if they invested wisely during their natural lifetime, over the long years of their afterlife, they could live quite handsomely, indeed.
Which authors/books have influenced you the most?
Once again, I’ll stick with dead authors: JRR Tolkien, Fritz Leiber, Edgar Allen Poe, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Ross Thomas, Larry McMurtry, and the list goes on and on ….
What’s your next writing adventure?
I’m hoping to write a fourth and perhaps final volume of novellas for my Mad Shadowsseries — making it a quartet instead of a trio. I’m also working on my seventh novella for the Heroes in Hell™ saga.
What is your greatest success?
That I’m still alive at age 70! Seriously, I’d have to say my Mad Shadows Triad, my, The MechMen of Canis-9, and the stories I’ve written for the Heroes in Hell™ saga are my greatest success stories, and my personal bundle of pride and joy.
What’s your favourite quote, who said it and why?
I actually have two, if I may: “Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. That’s because inside a dog it’s too dark to read.” — Grouch Marx. Why? Because he was a comedian, and his sarcastic wit often had truth and deeper, more subtle meaning. And: “I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.” — Anonymous. Why? Well . . . wouldn’t you?
Tell us a silly fact about yourself.
I collect Halloween knick-knacks and cheap snow globes.
What did you want to be when you ‘grew up’?
A rock-star guitar god. When I started growing up and growing older, I just wanted to be a kid again. I think a lot of us would like that.
Thank you for everything about this project and for asking me to take part.
Main character description (short): Vance Turbo (real name: Vannevar Tagashi) is a highly capable senior at Space Academy. However, he has gotten himself close to being thrown out and decides to blackmail his way into dropping out instead. He is snarky, irreverent, and highly capable in his field but very inexperienced.
Synopsis:
Vance Turbo finds himself dragooned into serving the secret service of the galaxy-spanning Community after he drops out of Space Academy under suspicious circumstances. Put in the worst crew in the galaxy, there’s something very strange about them being used for a mission that’s vital to the safety of the universe. Will he figure out what’s really going on? Can he survive with his ridiculous crew? Will they save everyone or doom us all?
Brief Excerpt 250 words:
“Cadet Vannevar James Tagawa—” the lion-faced alien said, sitting behind the desk in front of me. He had six arms and all of them fit in a snug red uniform with a silver badge on the right lapel that signified him as the Commandant of the Academy.
“Correction, sir,” I replied, smoothly. “I’ve had my name legally changed to Vance Turbo.”
The Commandant, whose name was a series of roars I couldn’t pronounce, stared at me. “No one calls you that. We’re also here to formally kick you out of the Academy.”
“I’m hoping to persuade you otherwise,” I said, smiling broadly.
Why should readers buy this book (50 words max)?
It is snarky, hilarious, and action-packed. I think if you love Star Trek, Mass Effect, Star Wars, or anything like them then you’ll love this.
When darkness falls, beware of the creatures that come out to play…
Fall under their spell over and over again in this ultimate paranormal and fantasy romance boxset! Over 40 full-length novels with heart-melting heroes and devastating anti-heroes, full of romance, magic, mystery, and adventure can be yours for an insanely low price.
Ready to be swept away? Your book boyfriends are waiting… Enemies-to-lovers, alphas, fae, werewolves, dragons, shapeshifters, vampires, gods, angels, demons, and more: with novels ranging from sweet to spicy, there’s a flavor to sate your every craving.
You won’t find these exclusive novels anywhere else, so don’t miss your chance. Over ten thousand pages by New York Times, USA Today, and International bestselling authors and at less than three cents per book, this collection is a steal, but only for a limited time. Grab it today before it’s gone forever…
Zoe spent her whole life training how to fight demons—how to kill them. Not once did that curriculum include falling in love with one. Now, she’s faced with a hard choice: betray one to save the other.
Will she side with the family and friends who have always been at her side, or trade it all for the romance she so deeply desires?
Odds are, no matter which path she follows, her heart won’t make it out unscathed.
I was diagnosed with clinical depression after the loss of my mother, father and husband within three years of each other; all to cancer. 24/7 in-home care, coupled with the loss I felt, left its mark on my psyche.
Depression takes up a lot of my life. Reading and writing are the only things I have found that help (in connection with regular medication), even if only for a short time. To escape to a different world can make a big difference in my mood in real time.
To put things in perspective, when I was at my lowest point, I couldn’t open mail, talk on the phone, or even drive to the store. Walls of sadness surrounded me. As they closed in, tears would fall. There didn’t need to be a reason or trigger.
People ask me why I started writing. My answer is simple: I wanted to create a world into which other people with similar problems could escape. I wanted to share the one place that had helped me for many years.
I have always said that as long as one person finds a little bit of happiness out of my books, I am, in my opinion, an accomplished author. The same is true for every writer out there. Please don’t ever let anyone tell you different.
I read books as well as write them and have visited the worlds many different authors have created. Those worlds not only make me feel better, but give me the strength to face real life again. I want to thank everyone who writes—I want them to know they are making a difference.
Fast forward to today…
C.A. King, USA Today Bestselling Author has over 60 books available across multiple fantasy sub-genres.
Awards include:
Hamilton Spectator Readers’ Choice Award in the Best Local Author category 2017 & 2018 & 2019
Brant News Readers’ Choice Award: Best Local Author 2017
Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards: Best Novella/Short Story 2017 Silver medal
2017 SIBA Awards – Best Novella
2017 SIBA Awards – Best New Adult
2018 Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards: Gold Medal in the Fiction – Supernatural genre
2018 Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards: Bronze Medal in the Fiction – New Adult genre
2019 Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal Winner in the Fiction – Supernatural genre
2019 Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal Winner in the Young Adult – Fantasy – Urban genre
City of Brantford Featured Artist February 2020
Burlington Post Readers’ Choice Award in the Best Local Author Category 2020
Toronto Star Readers’ Choice Award in the Best Local Author Category 2020
Cambridge Times Readers’ Choice Award in the Best Local Author Category 2020
Burlington Post Readers’ Choice Award in the Best Local Author Category 2021
*Please tell us about your publications, specifically the story in this bundle:
I write wonder (sci-fi/fantasy), horror, and humor. The Witching License came out of a self-imposed challenge I did back in February 2019—I wanted to write one short story a week for a month, using a different prompt each week. From that challenge, I got The Witching License, plus an upbeat goat-intensive fantasy adventure called The Capramancer Next Door, and the sole short story to actually come out of the exercise: the dark fantasy Hello, Wizard.
The prompt that produced The Witching License was “regret.” But even though it’s a bittersweet story, I don’t think it’s too dark–I was playing Just Dance for exercise around this time, so the song Land of 1,000 Dances worked its way into the story, along with my (admittedly faded) memories of Venice.
What first prompted you to publish your work?
It was November 2016. I’d finally finished my ginormous science fantasy epic Steel City, Veiled Kingdom.
So I’m sitting there with this manuscript that’s just as long as The Lord of the Rings or The Name of the Wind, and realizing I now have to try and sell it to an agent, who will probably make me chop it up into little pieces and rewrite it to be more “marketable”, even though I’m happy with it as-is, and know it’s meant to be one big book.
And all this would probably take years.
I didn’t want to do that, but I didn’t know what else to do with it! I went a little ways into the traditional publishing process—I even wrote a chapter-by-chapter synopsis and a query letter, intending to submit them to agents.
Then I discovered the posts on Dean Wesley Smith’s blog, Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Publishing and Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Indie Publishing. They completely changed my life!
Reading those, I realized I didn’t need a publisher to get Steel City out to readers. I came to the table with years of experience in HTML, CSS, illustration, and graphic design–a perfectly solid talent stack for going into indie publishing with a $0 budget.
Fast-forward to 2021: the Steel City, Veiled Kingdom ebook has been out for over a year now. The print volumes are being released this year. And while it was in production, I’ve had a whale of a time writing and publishing three other novels, plus other shorter stories!
If writing is a thing you want to do, don’t let anyone stop you!!
How did you become involved in book bundles? Would you recommend it?
I discovered the practice of book bundling through Chuck Heintzelman’s ebook The Author’s Guide to Ebook Bundling. I think bundles are a huge win-win for both authors and readers!
Bundling is like…anthologizing for the digital age: a bundle curator gathers stories from various authors and sells the collection online. Readers who buy the bundle get to sample a variety of authors who are already writing stories about things they like—and at a discount, to boot.
Meanwhile, authors split the profits from the bundle and gain exposure to new readers. And since bundling is relatively easy for authors on the back end, they can spend more time writing new stuff for their readers! Like I said, win-win.
What other bundles are you involved with?
I have stories in Cat Tales Issue #2, Cat Tales Issue #3, Cat Tales Issue #4, Thirteen Stakes, (all curated by Steve Vernon) and now Here Be More Magic. Hooray!
If you had to pick 5 books to take to a desert island which 5 would it be?
My scriptures
Harry Potter (all 7 books count as one unit don’t @ me)
Watership Down by Richard Adams
The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick
…and a blank book to write and draw in.
If you could have dinner with any literary character who would you choose, and what would you eat.
This is not very literary at all…but I think it’d be fascinating to have dinner with Artemis Fowl’s bodyguard, Butler (from the Artemis Fowl series). Being a military man, I’m sure he’d have a ton of entertaining stories on tap (even just training stories, man!), PLUS all the Butlers are trained chefs so whatever he fixed, you can bet it’d be delicious!
How much research do you do for your work? What’s the wildest subject you’ve looked at?
I tend to randomly come across interesting things, and then those interesting things make it into my work…If I don’t know a fact, I Ducky it (use Duck Duck Go search engine).
The wildest subject I’ve researched so far was on body decomposition times for my noir love story Out Where the Sun Always Shines. But one of the most interesting things I’ve researched into is the effect of lightning strikes on living creatures for a scene in Steel City, Veiled Kingdom.
How influential is storytelling to our culture?
Sometimes storytelling reflects culture, but storytelling also shapes culture, there’s no doubt in my mind! It’s been the primary way to transmit information, social mores, histories, etc. throughout time. And storytelling can be so deep!
Look at “The Good Samaritan”–on the one hand, there’s the surface level of the parable, about helping a man on a road, but there’s also deeper meanings and emotions and instructions there that can reach differing people based on their own knowledge and life experiences.
I also subscribe to acting teacher Ed Hooks’ notion that artists are shamans; at our highest level, we tell stories our tribe needs to hear. Or, as he puts it:
“To the artist: Your genealogical roots are in shamanism. It is your job to talk to the tribe, to help them get to survive a tough winter and to celebrate victories. Animation is not only a fun thing to do — It is an honorable way to spend your life.” (From https://magazine.artstation.com/2020/01/acting-for-animators-with-ed-hooks/ )
If you could be any fantasy/mythical or legendary person/creature what would you be and why?
Dragon, hands-down. Flying + flaming + I could be tall. It would be epic.
Tell us about your latest piece?
The last novel I published was The Capramancer Next Door. In it, a down-to-earth mage and her magical goats protect their new neighbor when he crosses an angry fairy. The lead goat’s name is Elvis, which should give you an idea of the book’s tone.
Also, GoatsLive.com called it “a wonderful read!”, and if that endorsement doesn’t convince you that I have written the Great American Fantasy Goat Novel, nothing ever will.
What’s your next writing adventure?
I’m currently finishing The Guests of Crooked Neck, a direct follow-up to Steel City, Veiled Kingdom…but they’re almost reversals of each other. Where Steel City had a single hero’s viewpoint and spanned four worlds of adventure, Crooked Neck’s events are seen through the eyes of multiple characters in a single small town.
What is the last book you’ve read?
The last book I completed was A Horse and His Boy, by CS Lewis. I would’ve reread the rest of the Narnia series, except I want to read them in paperback and I only own two or three. Sometimes reading on a screen is the last thing I want to do!
I’m currently reading The Heist, by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg, because a friend lent the hardcover to me. I’m enjoying it, even if I hear everything Nick says in the voice of Lupin the Third!
Danielle Williams is the author of (so far) four novels and nearly a dozen other tales of wonder, horror and humor, including science-fantasy epic Steel City, Veiled Kingdom, creepy apartment caper The Girlfriend Who Wasn’t from Delaware, and the beloved children’s Christmas novel A Gingersnap Cat Christmas.
Demon hunter Riley Collins has discovered a dark secret… and she’ll have to give up everything to bring it to light.
Riley Collins swore an oath to the Arbiters of Shadow to carry on her family’s legacy of hunting demons. After a hellhound attack in Omaha ends in disaster, the Arbiters assign her a new partner: Jacob Thorne, the arrogant son of one of the highest ranking members of the Council.
Their first assignment together leads them to a demonic ritual that gives Riley and Jacob more questions than the Arbiters are willing to answer. By defying Marcus Thorne and the rest of the Council in her search for the truth, Riley uncovers a conspiracy that runs deep within the demon hunting organization.
Caught between her desire to do the right thing and her duty to the Arbiters, Riley has to make an impossible choice. Will she resign herself to a dark truth within the organization she’s pledged her life to, or will she become an Oathbreaker and spend the rest of her life running from death?
Fans of Supernatural, Jim Butcher, and Ilona Andrews will love the dark twists and turns of MARKED FOR DEATH, book one of the ARBITERS OF SHADOW urban fantasy series by USA Today bestselling author Becca Blake.
Becca Blake writes dark and deadly fantasy stories. If you ask her about her hobbies, she’ll tell you she likes to spend her time seeking vengeance against her enemies, but in reality she spends most of her free time curled up on the couch watching Netflix with her cat. She currently lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her husband and their two kids.
Library of Erana 